Swapped Lives
by HaloKeres-Chan
Summary: We all know Sonic and Shadow's past...right? But...what if they were swapped around? What if Sonic was created on the ARK and lost Amy? What if Shadow played hero and had the crazed fangirl Maria stalking him? What if their paths suddenly crossed? *DISCONTINUED.*
1. My Dying Light

Swapped Lives

Chapter 1: My Dying Light

The dreams had been plaguing Sonic for some time now. Every night, he heard the bloodcurdling of people he didn't recognize, he felt the crimson splash on his face, he saw bodies falling to the ground before him, one by one. The gunshots echoed in his ear, only disappearing when his savior, his light, spoke his name.

Speaking of which, she was doing that now.

"Sonikku? You alive there?"

Sonic shifted his head, meeting face-to-face with his friend. Her jade eyes met his verdigris-colored ones. Some of her sakura bangs fell in his face, and when they itched his nose, he sneezed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Ames. What about you?" Sonic stretched his arms, before sitting up.

Amy Rose puffed her cheeks, though Sonic smiled when he saw the small blush on them. "I-I was just checking on you. The professor was worried when you never showed up for your weekly checkup."

"Didn't feel like going."

"Oh, come on! Not that excuse again!"

"Yes. Again."

Sonic made a small smirk when he heard Amy make an exasperated sigh.

Amy grabbed the blue hedgehog by the wrist and pulled with difficulty, trying to yank him off the bed. "Come on! The professor needs to see whether or not you'll...you'll..." Amy trailed off, her grip on Sonic weakening as she tried to put it into words.

"I'm fine." Sonic pulled his arm back, clicking his tongue. "Besides, I'd prefer to not know when I'm gonna die. Like most sane people."

"Sonikku...please. Just-I want to know if you're really okay." Amy used her nickname for him again.

The cerulean hedgehog slid off the bed, barely able to resist the innocence in Amy's voice. A faint blush lit his cheeks. "A-Alright. But only because you asked me to!" Sonic pointed an accusing finger at the pink hedgehog. Amy grinned, and dove on top of him.

"Yay! Thank you, my Sonikku!" She shouted, ignoring Sonic's protests as they fell over on the floor, she on top of him.

"I told you I'd do it! Don't make me change my mind!" Sonic threatened, and in an instant Amy was off him, dialing the code to open the door.

Sonic shifted his arm to where it was over his eyes, panting from how much effort it took to keep Amy from strangling him when she had tackled him.

"Get up, Sonikku! You can't be exhausted already!"

"I _know._ " Sonic emphasized the "know" so that Amy would get his point, standing up as he did so. Amy grabbed his gloved hand and pulled him through the door, where they ran down the hallway to the professor's office.

Sonic looked out the large 6-inch thick glass windows. From there, anyone could get a perfect view of the earth, and of the blanket called space with stars in the background. From the ARK, the earth looked like nothing more than a planet filled with nothing but water and clouds-the water which Sonic hated. After all, he couldn't swim. Like, at all, as much as he hated to admit it.

The earth was a beautiful planet that neither Sonic nor Amy had ever been to before. Sonic's reason-was because, well, G.U.N. had backed Professor Robotnik into a corner, and for an unknown reason, Sonic was only brought to life only to serve the military as a weapon. However, the professor had said it was to solve major illnesses like N.I.D.S. or A.I.D.S. Mostly because of Amy.

Amy Rose, used to be a human girl, and the best friend of the professor's granddaughter. She, however, was born with A.I.D.S., and because of that was unable to survive in the earth's atmosphere. She died around nine years old, only alive for so long because of the hospital atmosphere, but even that was to dangerous for her, and she passed.

Then, for some unknown reason, the professor brought the girl back to life at his granddaughter's request. Hence, Amy was brought back in an artificial body, though she had no memory of her past, as well as any of the people she used to love. So Amy was brought here, to the ARK, since everyone that had ever cared about her abandoned her, thinking she was some sort of "monster." Sonic hated them for that.

Sonic was brought to life about three years after Amy came to the ARK, when she was twelve. It had been six years since then, so even though Amy looked like she was twelve, and Sonic sixteen, in truth Amy was far older than him, an awkward eighteen with Sonic being six. Already, though, because of what had been going on, he already acted like he was seventeen. Their ages were way different, and put simply, Sonic acted Amy's age, and Amy acted, well Sonic's age. It was all a huge mess, really.

"Professor, we're here!" Amy pulled Sonic through the sliding door, the azure hedgehog having spaced out for a second.

The said scientist, Gerald Robotnik, was busy looking through a microscope at something Amy and Sonic didn't care about, but upon hearing them entering, looked up.

"Hello Amy, Sonic." Gerald smiled, though it was hard to see through his unnaturally long mustache. He looked at Amy. "I see that you managed to convince him to come this time without using force." He moved his gaze over to Sonic, who was itching at his cheek, slightly flustered.

"Don't need to be so nervous, Sonic. It's just the normal checkup, come over here." Gerald gestured to the metal table always used for science-y stuff that Sonic didn't pay attention to. However, it did bring back the painful memories of what G.U.N. did to him about a year ago. In the event, he nearly killed ten people.

Sonic gulped, but obliged to the professor's instructions, plopping himself down on the table, his legs dangling off the edge. He bit the inside of his cheek in order to keep the memories from surfacing, and mentally told himself to calm down repeatedly.

"Amy, can you go wait outside?" Gerald asked the girl, who nodded hesitantly, before exiting. The scientist peered at Sonic anxiously. "It's okay, Sonic. What happened is over now, okay?"

"I-I know that, but..." Sonic breathed, feeling his heartbeat race far faster than what should be considered normal. "It's...it's hard to forget when she reminds me of it every day..."

* * *

Amy waited for what felt like hours outside, though she knew it was only about twenty minutes.

The door sliding open made her snap her head up, and she quickly turned, seeing Gerald step out of the lab. "How is he?" She asked, unsure of how she should express her worry.

Gerald gestured to the sleeping ball of blue fur in his hands. "He did his best to keep from panicking, and he didn't have another flashback, so that was good. He fell asleep during the checkup, and I believe this may be from a lack of sleep. He's been eating fine, so don't worry about that. I'd like it if you could sleep with him tonight to make sure he get's a decent amount of sleep, alright?"

Amy felt heat pool in her cheeks. "A-Alright."

The professor took Sonic back to his room, which was, thankfully, next to Amy's, and placed the hedgehog on his bed. Almost immediately, he curled into fetal position, and Amy flushed at how cute he looked when he slept.

"I'll leave him to you, then." The professor left, leaving Amy and Sonic alone. She crawled into the blankets next to her friend, and grasped onto his hand. The two didn't know that would be one of the last times they ever could hold onto each other.

* * *

"Sonikku! Sonikku!"

Sonic cracked his eyes open a sliver, surprised that it was still dark inside the room. "Mn?"

Someone was shaking his shoulders, hard. "SONIC! WAKE UP!"

Upon hearing someone use his full name, the hedgehog's eyes shot open fully, and he sat straight up with a jolt. "What is it?" He looked around the room in alarm, only to find Amy clutching onto his shoulders, tears burning in her eyes. Sirens blared, and the red lights lit up the room.

"Sonikku, I'm scared!" Amy cried, burying her head into Sonic's chest making him blush.

"L-Let's get out of here!" Sonic stuttered, still embarrassed at how she latched onto him like that. He snatched her hand, and ran over to the door-however, several bangs and gunshots were heard outside. Sonic then assumed soldiers or something of the same caliber was attempting to break the door down. He swore, before looking around for another escape.

There was a window, revealing the space outside the reinforced steel walls. After confirming it in some tests about two years ago, Sonic had discovered he could breathe in space, but he wasn't sure about Amy. Plus, where would they go, even if they could escape through there?

Sonic grit his teeth, and looked around the room for another exit, before his eyes landed on an air vent above them. He didn't know where it would lead, but it was his only choice. He set Amy down on the bed. "Hold on for a sec."

He squatted down, before leaping up and pulling on the vent itself. It yanked off, thanks to his weight, and he quickly grabbed Amy bridal style and jumped again.

Sonic made sure Amy safely made it into the air vent, before going back down, and grabbed the vent cover. He leaped for a third time, this time climbing into the vent and setting the cover back in place-just as the soldiers banging on the door from outside knocked the door down.

"Come on." Sonic whispered, gesturing Amy to follow him, as he crawled down some random direction in the vents.

The sirens still echoed loudly through the vents, making Sonic grow panicked with anxiety. Just what could be going on, that could lead to soldiers attacking the ARK? What is it that they want? Why are they here?

"Find the project! Now!" He heard a muffled voice from one of the vent covers, followed by a series of footsteps.

"Sonikku?" Sonic quickly shushed Amy, who was following along behind him.

"We're gonna go to the pod bay and take some escape capsules. And we're going to escape together, okay?" Sonic instructed her, and the sakura hedgehog nodded.

Sonic gave her a small thumbs-up and kicked off the cover on the nearest vent. Sure, there was a risk that soldiers were down there, but he and Amy needed to leave as soon as they could.

He grabbed her hands, which were cuffed with gold rings and covered with gloves. "Hold on." He told her, before jumping down. They both noticed crosshairs appear on their foreheads. Sonic clenched his fist, but smirked, sweat forming along his eye ridge. "Give me a sec, Ames."

She nodded. "A-Alright."

Just as he said, Sonic took only a second, if not less, turning into nothing but a blue blur, one that appeared again about two seconds later, all the soldiers aiming guns at them dropping to the ground. He dusted his gloves off, before taking Amy's hand and continuing to run, fully aware of the soldiers following win close pursuit.

"Don't let the project get away! Make sure no one survives!" Sonic and Amy overheard some random man yell to the other soldiers behind them.

Next thing they knew, projectiles were being fired recklessly, probably in an effort to slow the duo down. In order to shield her, Sonic heaved the girl up and held her in his arms bridal style once again.

Several of the bullets nicked his arms and legs, making him wince. Still, as long as Amy was safe, Sonic didn't care.

The pod bay soon came into eyesight, and Sonic let out a breath of relief. He increased his speed, thankful for his gift of super speed.

Sonic and Amy slid through the door, the azure hedgehog using his shoes to skid to a stop. He dialed a code to lock the door, and made sure that those soldiers wouldn't make it in.

"Come on, Ames. I-what is it?" Sonic realized Amy was staring at something else. He placed his hand on her small shoulder, and Amy shakily pointed in front of her. Tears had already begun to slip down her cheeks.

"Sonic..."Amy used Sonic's real name, which caught his attention. Well, there was that, and when he found what she was looking at, Sonic's eyes widened.

"Sonic, there's only one capsule left. Only one of us can go."

* * *

It took Sonic a couple of seconds to process what Amy had said. Only one of them could go to the earth? The other had to stay, awaiting nothing but death?

That wasn't right. It could never be right. Never.

Sonic took in some shaky breaths. "Amy. Go." He shoved his friend from the back, and Amy let out an awkward gasp at his sudden action.

Amy shoved her heels into the ground. "I refuse, Sonic. You're going into that escape capsule." She grabbed his wrists from behind her. Sonic's mouth opened, though no sound came out, as she turned her head to him. The tears that had traveled down her face were now dried, leaving white trails on her cheeks. New ones flowed over the marks. Amy smiled.

 _"I'm sorry."_

Forcefully pushing him, Amy shoved him into the space. In the instant after that, before he could react, the glass slammed down around him, and he swore, realizing that the capsule closed the moment it detected motion.

His teeth clenching again, Sonic threw his fists against the bulletproof-and soundproof-glass. In such a small pod, there was no space to create any momentum, and barely any room to spindash, basically rendering the hedgehog powerless, with nothing but his fists. It hurt realizing that. So, so much.

Though it was barely audible, Sonic heard thuds through the glass, and watched hopelessly as the door to the pod bay broke down. He went into panic mode, his eyes shifting to Amy, who's trembling hands grasped the lever on the console. If she pulled that lever, then it would be the end. Sonic would be sent down to the earth, alone, and Amy would be left to die.

The small group of soldiers shouted something inaudible at Amy, who ignored them. She instead, smiled sadly at Sonic, and whispered words that he didn't hear.

And the lever was pulled.


	2. World I Promised to Protect

Swapped Lives

Chapter 2: World I Promised to Protect

Shadow's memories of the past were more often foggy then not. It was always unclear of what his life was like before, of what he did and who he met. Just a blur.

He could remember when he met Tails-the twin-tailed kitsune had broken into his house at the sight of unknown mechanical devices in one of the bedrooms. To be honest, Shadow couldn't remember what those things were either, so he let the fox play with them.-and when he first met Maria-the girl was a young blonde hedgehog. He saved her from being attacked by some random group of gangsters. After that, she chose to stay by his side forever.-but any time before those was blurry.

"Shadow-kun. Wake up."

The said hedgehog groggily opened his eyes, his ruby-colored irises meeting with Maria's lively blue ones. "Like I said, Maria. Stop it with the Japanese honorifics. It's creepy." He stretched his arms, and sat up from his awkward position on the sofa-which turned out to be upside-down.

Maria huffed, crossing her arms. "But I want to learn how to be bilingual! Is it really that much of a bad thing?"

"Yeah."

Shadow picked up the blankets he tossed onto the floor last night, and dumped them on the sofa, too lazy to fold them. "Besides, the whole 'Shadow-kun' and 'Tails-chan' thing is really starting to freak both of us out."

"And I'm not a child, you know!" Tails yelled from the kitchen in the other room. " _I'm_ the one making breakfast for you guys!"

"Got it!" Maria shouted back, before beginning to tug on Shadow's arm. The ebony hedgehog refused to budge, instead yawning and wiping the tear that formed at the corner of his eyes. He 'hmph'-ed, saying, "Give me a sec, Maria."

The blonde hedgehog stared grumpily at him. Then her stomach grumbled. Maria blushed, and started waving her hands in front of her face. "I-I'm not hungry! Really!" She stuttered to Shadow, who did nothing more than blink, he was so unconvinced. "...right."

Feeling guilty for keeping his friend waiting, Shadow stood up. He staggered, though, thanks to a dizzy spell. Spots blotted in and out of his vision.

Maria waved her hands frantically. "I-It's fine, Shadow-kun! I'll just go get Tails-chan to bring breakfast in here!" She ran off to the kitchen after setting Shadow back down on the couch.

A few moments later, Maria had plopped herself down next to him, flattening out her white-and-blue-striped skirt. Tails showed up, with three plates of breakfast, though one balanced dangerously on his bushy fox tails.

"Here's your breakfast, you two." Tails handed his hedgehog friends the plates, smiling as he did so. Afterwards, he sat down in the recliner next to the couch, and began his meal by slamming his forks down into one of his pancakes. "Another dizzy spell?" The kitsune asked.

Shadow nodded, his gloved hand massaging his forehead. "And it hurts like hell." He got another headache to deal with the moment Maria stood up and smacked him over the head.

"Don't swear, Shadow-kun! It's rude!" She scolded him, though Shadow blocked her out, somewhat nauseous.

Maria's heated expression almost instantly softened when she saw how fatigued he looked. "Shadow-kun..."

The jet-black hedgehog raised his hand, as a means to tell her to stop worrying about him. "I'm fine. Just a bit nauseous. I'll go upstairs and try to see what I can do about it." Shadow stood up, placed his uneaten breakfast in Maria's hands, and, with one hand bracing the rails on the stairs, went up.

It took a few seconds for Maria to actually speak again. "Was he going overboard while training again?"

Tails nodded solemnly. "Yeah. I think he's overworked. It only proves how much he wants to beat Knuckles in combat alone. In use of Chaos Energy, though, it's obvious that Shadow's superior, but their combat skills are still pretty far apart. He's way too obsessed with this."

Maria's clutched her hands to her chest, after setting Shadow's plate of pancakes on the small table in the living room. "Do you think this has to do with Shadow-kun's..."

"Yeah." Tails' mouth pursed into a straight line. "I think it has to do with why his past is so unclear."

* * *

When he wasn't able to take it anymore, Shadow soon found himself vomiting up the few contents in his stomach into the toilet. Grasping the bathroom counter with one hand, and wiping his mouth with the other, Shadow began to think.

Just what could he be doing wrong? Knuckles seemed to beat him no matter how much he trained. He admitted, maybe doing one thousand pushups a day was a little over-the-top, but regardless, he wanted to beat the cocky echidna. He just didn't understand what he was messing up.

Shadow turned the faucet on, and tugged his gloves off. He removed the black/red cuffs, and placed his hands underneath the cool, running water. He collected some of the liquid in his palms, and splashed it on his face. It was refreshing.

After drying his hands off, Shadow noticed the gold inhibitor rings binding his wrists and his ankles. He wasn't sure of their purpose, but he knew it limited his Chaos abilities. He didn't know why, but they did.

"Dammit." Shadow muttered, slipping his gloves back on and fitting his cuffs back on so they fit snuggly. "Just what am I doing wrong?"

It had occurred in Shadow's mind that he was possibly overexerting himself, but that meant he wouldn't have gotten as far as he did in these last few months with his training. So he thought that he was doing too little of each of his exercises, so he doubled the amount of them.

He understood why Maria and Tails were concerned for his health, but Shadow had assured them he was fine. _They were all lies._ Shadow was lying to them every time they asked if he was okay; he knew that. The moment he got out of eyesight and of earshot, he would probably hurl, or collapse, he was so exhausted and adsorbed by fatigue.

Shadow had his reasons for training.

It was obvious he wanted to get stronger, but that was only one of his reasons. The other was to protect Tails and Maria. They were the only two kind enough to smile and talk to him. Others would just ignore him or the humans that lived here would call him a "filthy beast." So for Tails and Maria to even acknowledge his existence was like a gift from the heavens.

"Shadow!"

The hedgehog heard footsteps up the stairs. _Crap._ What would Tails think if he saw him like this? In a panic, Shadow grabbed one of the towels in the bathroom cabinets, and frantically tried to make it look like he was drying off after leaving the shower.

Tails slammed the door open only less-than-a-second afterwards. "Eggman's attacking!" He shouted, panting. Shadow stiffened. He threw the towel onto the floor, and put his battle face on.

"Let's go."

* * *

Despite how many battles they'd faced off in, Shadow still wasn't accustomed to the battlefield that the doctor always created. For crying out loud, he used the freaking city, and currently he was in the southern end of Station Square, wreaking havoc with some random robot Shadow was too lazy to describe.

Eggman wasn't quick when it came to noticing a hedgehog that blended in with the pavement on roads (except the crimson stripes that stretched across multiple parts of Shadow's body, of course.), but he was unusually fast this time.

"I see you've finally shown yourself, Shadow the Hedgehog! Now be prepared to witness-"

"Shut _up,_ Doctor." Shadow growled, feeling his rage meter heighten at the sight of so many civilians attempting to escape the chaos Eggman was creating. "I don't give a crap about your stupid lectures."

The floating aircraft Eggman always used lowered, allowing Shadow to get a better view of the doctor's mustachioed face. "My, my, blowing a fuse today, are we?"

Shadow's hand clenched as a tick mark appeared on his forehead. He wanted to get this over with. After all, his muscles were already screaming for rest, and the overall physical strain he'd been setting on his body since he started training a couple weeks ago had probably quadrupled since Eggman's last attack.

"Let's get this over with, Doctor. You interrupted my breakfast with Tails and Maria. If you don't mind, which you probably do, I'd like to finish." Shadow pointed at Eggman, at the same time getting into an attack stance. He almost winced at the ache in his limbs as he moved, but he held it in.

Eggman launched his robot, and it landed down in front of Shadow. The obese man laughed maniacally. "Behold! My latest creation, the-" He never finished, as their was a sudden explosion that rocked his hovercraft.

Large plumes of smoke floated into the sky, and embers drifted around, depending on the course of the wind.

Shadow dusted his hands off, and glared harshly at the doctor. "That it? I seriously thought I might've had a challenge." He smirked.

Eggman felt veins pop out of his forehead. He smashed his fist onto the console in his hovercraft, and turned tail. "I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS!" He shouted back at the charcoal hedgehog.

However, the second Eggman disappeared from sight, Shadow's tough façade faded. He fell to one knee, barely able to feel his limbs after that spindash. The pearls or sweat dripped down his quills, glistening in the sunlight.

He really was pushing himself too hard, Shadow realized.

"Shadow-kun!" Maria cried at the top of her lungs, exiting Tails' tornado, which just landed. She scrambled over to the hedgehog, a First Aid box in her hands.

"Are you okay?"

Shadow managed a strained smile. "Depends on how you look at it. I guess I really have been overworking my body."

Maria opened the medical box and searched for anything, and everything, that could possibly help Shadow. "Stop exerting yourself! It'll cost you in the long run. Doing this part-time job of saving the world really isn't something you should be doing if you can't even handle this." She worriedly looked in between two medicine bottles, trying to figure which would help Shadow out better.

"It's fine, Maria. I'll shorten my training to only three days a week, rather then five, okay? Besides, if I hadn't promised to protect the world, who would have?" Shadow winced at the way Maria pressed an ice pack to his arm.

The blonde smiled. "Alright. Just get some rest, okay Shadow-kun?"

Shadow laughed hoarsely. "Again with the honorifics. They aren't necessary."

Maria rolled her blue eyes. "Yes they are."

The rest of the day was filled with joyous laughs and arguments about using Japanese honorifics. A day that Shadow hoped he would never forget.


	3. My Forbidden Memories

Swapped Lives

Chapter 3: My Forbidden Memories

 _"Hey, Sonikku? Have you ever seen what the earth is like?"_

 _"Nope, never have. You know I've been stuck up here all my life!"_

 _"You're funny! But...I guess you're right. I've been right by your side, ever since you were born!"_

 _"CREATED, not born, Ames. I was created, not born. And..."_

 _"...you were meant to be a cure for all illnesses?"_

 _"And as a weapon of mass destruction. You have no idea how it feels, only being seen as an object."_

 _"I may not know how it feels, but I certainly do not see you as a simple project Sonikku! You are a Mobian, just like me, and the hedgehog of my dreams!"_

 _"You're going way too overboard with this!"_

 _"So what? You DID promise you would protect me, didn't you?"_

 _"U-Uh, yeah...but that has nothing to do with this!"_

 _"You're so cute! Look at how you're blushing!"_

 _"I-I'm not blushing! And I'm definitely not cute!"_

 _"Yes you are!"_

 _"No! I'm not!"_

* * *

Blinking his eyes open blearily, Sonic found himself staring directly at some sort of glass shielding. His head felt extremely heavy, kudos to the dizziness causing it. There was that, and the fact that his wrists and ankles were being restricted by steel shackles.

 _Just what on earth happened?_

Sonic couldn't really remember all that well why he ended up in this strange prison. He didn't know how he got here, how long he'd been here, why he was here in the first place, where he was-

Wow, since when did he ask so many questions?

The azure hedgehog attempted looking through his memories, in an attempt of hopefully figuring out what was going on with him. Only...

His mind was empty. There weren't any memories there to sort through, or any knowledge he could look back on. All he could familiarize with himself, was his name, which was Sonic. But how in the world would he be able to tell if that was his real name or not?

The shield that once stood only inches from his face soon lifted, and slid over to the right. Gases that Sonic didn't even notice filtered out of...whatever he was in. Soon enough, the bindings that pinned his limbs to whatever he was on vanished, as though they were never there in the first place.

Sonic weakly shifted his weight onto his elbows in an attempt to get up.

This was certainly new. His memory was wiped, he felt like he'd just been hit by a train, and he somehow wound up in some prison that seemed completely unfamiliar. Yes, this was definitely new, he was certain of it. After all, despite the emptiness in his head, he was sure this had never happened before.

"Sh-Shadow?! What in Mobius' name are you doing here?!"

Mobius? What's a Mobius? Is that a god? A person?

Sonic peered over to the origin of the voice, which just so happened to be some egg-shaped man with a Pinocchio nose, a huge mustache for a mouth, and what looked like three pairs of goggles sitting atop his small, bald head. He dwelled in some robot thing that looked like one of those AT-AT walkers from _Star Wars._ Wait a minute. What was _Star Wars_ exactly?

"Don't trick me, you little black-and-red brat!" The egg guy shouted again.

Sonic blinked, then rolled his eyes. Was this guy color-blind? Any normal person would be able to tell that he was clearly more of a _blue_ than any other color. How on earth could he be black and red?

"Shut up, ya old man." Sonic plugged one of his cobalt ears with one hand, the other in front of his mouth as he yawned. "I just woke up, and you're shoutin' like a trumpet inta my ears."

That was strange, Sonic realized. Since when did he get such a sassy, cocky attitude? Was it a front for this old mustache guy? Or did he somehow get another personality when he was asleep? How long had he been asleep in the first place?

The thought hit the hedgehog like a bullet. How long had he been unconscious?

Using a narrow, threatening glare, Sonic turned to the egg guy. "Just how long have I been stuck here, old geezer?" He demanded an answer with a harsh voice.

The weird man didn't make an effort to move. Rather, he attempted a maniacal laugh, though to Sonic it sounded like Santa's traditional "ho ho ho!" It was freaking him out.

"My, my! Quite the demanding type, are we? I guess I _could_ tell you..." A smirk spread upon the guy's mustachioed face. "But first, you have to pledge loyalty to me, Dr. Eggman of the Eggman Empire!" He raised his hand in the air, his index finger pointing upwards fro a dramatic effect.

"So his name's Eggman..." Sonic mumbled, somewhat disgusted at the doctor's stupidity. "Forget I said anythin', Baldy!" He yelled, standing up from where he had been sitting. "I'm not gonna be your slave just to find out who I am!"

Eggman finally blew his fuse. "BE QUIET, YOU BLUE PIN CUSHION!" He shouted.

Sonic crossed his arms. "Wow, didn't know ya had such a short span o' patience. Well, guess you aren't color blind either. See ya!" After confirming that Eggman wasn't color blind, he jumped down from the elevated prison, landing firmly on the ground. His legs wobbled a bit, and he hoped Eggman didn't notice.

Unfortunately, he did.

"So you're still recovering. That'll make it all the more easier to catch you!" The doctor flipped some switches and pressed some buttons on his console, and the AT-AT walker-looking robot began stomping towards the blue hedgehog.

Sonic sighed in boredom, before shifting his weight onto one foot and pivoting a 180. "Sorry, Mr. McNoseHair, but I have ta go. See ya!" He waved his hand in a I'm-extremely-bored manner.

In a flash-literally-he was gone, leaving nothing but a neon blue streak and a large hole in the wall. Outside of it was the cold, crisp night, the ocean the only thing one could see. After all, it was Prison Island.

...which meant there was water **everywhere.**

* * *

Sonic's feet began kicking up sand not long after he took off. He looked down at his feet. _Sand?_

Then a chilling sensation drilled through him. Sonic stiffened, and began to panic. Water lapped against the shores of the island, as well as Sonic's feet. WATER.

And he was afraid of water. To a very...large extent.

But can anyone blame him? He didn't know how to swim, and if he did, he certainly didn't remember it. Which also meant that he forgot how.

Sonic realized he was very, very screwed.

It was possible that he could use his super speed to travel so fast that he couldn't sink, but that would be difficult. He was still a bit dizzy from when he had awoken, and his legs were already feeling a bit wobbly.

Wait a second. Since when could he use super speed?

Sonic remembered moving at around three hundred miles an hour (maybe?), but how did he know that? Was it an instinct? Maybe something he was born with?

 _"...I've been right by your side, ever since you were born!"_

 _"CREATED, not born, Ames. I was created, not born."_

A sudden blow of pain hit the cobalt hedgehog in the head, one with such a torturous aftermath that he fell to his knees. The blood began pounding in his ears, and the pulse of his heartbeat began to echo in his mind.

 _Hold up._ Sonic thought, surprised that the pain left him a bit of space in his brain for thinking. _One of those voices was...mine. Who did the other belong to?_

"I've found you, blue rat!"

 _Crap. Not now!_

"What do ya want, Eggy?" Sonic barely managed to make the tone of his voice sound firm, and the fact that he was on his knees and clutching onto his head showed Eggman that he was not in his best condition right now.

The doctor lowered himself a bit, in order to make out Sonic more clearly. "Oh? So you're suffering, are you?" He looked out to the ocean. "And it seems that you don't like the ocean either!"

"Shut it, ya old man!" Sonic shouted the words in a grouchy tone, and the faint blush on his face indicated that he was indeed embarrassed.

 _"You're so cute! Look at how you're blushing!"_

 _"I-I'm not blushing! And I'm definitely not cute!"_

 _"Yes you are!"_

 _"No! I'm not!"_

The throbs came back, and Sonic fought it in order to prevent Eggman-or anyone for that matter-from seeing any weakness. His heartbeat began to hasten, increase in its speed, and the azure hedgehog soon realized that it was beating far faster than it should be.

 _"Hey, Sonikku?"_

Sonic thought that the pain would finally disappear, but instead, even more replaced it. His heart throbbed, his body felt like his arms and legs were being ripped off, and his head was in complete agony.

Then, everything disappeared into the black.

* * *

 _"Hey, Sonikku? Have you ever seen what the earth is like?"_

 _The cobalt hedgehog looked at her, barely holding back a small smile at the sight of her practically smashing herself against the window, her jade eyes sparkling in_ _curiosity. He crossed his arms._ _"Nope, never have. You know I've been stuck up here all my life!"_

 _She clasped her hands behind her back, leaning over a bit to create a cute image of herself. She smiled brightly, and Sonic realized that it framed her perfectly. The rosy quills, the gold rings around her gloves, the cute magenta dress with its white-strip pattern, her jade orbs, the cute smile adorned on her face..._

 _Sonic realized she truly was beautiful._

 _"You're funny! But..." Her face quickly went solemn and lonely. "I guess you're right." However, right after those words, she cheered up, her cheeks matching her hair in joy. "I've been right by your side, ever since you were born!"_

 _"CREATED, not born, Ames." He corrected her. "I was created, not born. And..." He trailed off, his emerald gaze hastily dropping to the floor. He knew this subject was a bit touchy on his part, so it was no surprise. He also knew it hurt her too._

 _She turned away from Sonic, once again looking down at the beautiful blue planet he so wished to call home._ _"...you were meant to be a cure for all illnesses?" She mumbled hopefully._

 _Sonic's lower lip trembled._ _"And as a weapon of mass destruction. You have no idea how it feels, only being seen as an object." He rubbed his arm, feeling his eyes burn. Was he about to cry? No, he couldn't do it here, in front of her._ It hurts.

 _No reply came from her, except for sudden sobs and the sound of tears dropping and hitting the ground. She turned back to him, and Sonic's v_ _iridescent eyes widened._

 _Her face had become nothing but a blur of multiple colors, the only thing in focus being the vermillion tears that dripped down her face and the her small, weak smile._

 _"A-A..." The hedgehog attempted speaking her name, but it was gone the moment she turned back to him, erased from his memory the instant she began to cry._

 _She fell limply to the floor, sudden puddles of blood pooling around her. Fog began to cloud Sonic's vision, she disappearing within it._

 _He reached his hand out to her, and the water burning in his eyes began to flow. "I CAN'T LET YOU DIE! NOT NOW!"_

 _It was too late._

* * *

The shock came so fast, it stimulated Sonic and made him jump to his feet. His pupils dilated, HIs body on tense alert. However, when no danger came upon him, he released his pent-up breath and held his gloved hand to his chest. The other was placed on his forehead, and he found that he was drenched in sweat.

"Finally awake, are we?"

Sonic stiffened, realizing that Eggman had made his appearance. The old man appeared to be reading a book, but it was clear he had no interest in it. He closed whatever he was reading. "I see that you had a nightmare."

The hedgehog flushed, quickly turning away from the man to hide his face. "Y-Yeah." His blush faded when his instincts kicked in. "Wait a second! Where am I?!"

Eggman groaned. "Relax, hedgehog. I merely captured you when you fell unconscious. After a quick analysis, it seems you have amnesia." He massaged the bridge of his nose.

Sonic wanted to gawk. After all, Eggman seemed so...MATURE. It was very, very frightening.

"Anyways, hedgehog, I have an offer for you." Eggman quickly reverted to his idiotic self, doing the "ho ho ho" thing and holding his hands in the air with drama. "If you work for me, then I'll help recover your memories!"

The reaction came fast. Sonic gripped the edge of the bed he just realized he was on, surprised. Despite the feeling in his gut that told him that this old geezer was untrustworthy, it seemed like a pretty good deal.

Sonic smirked, and held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, ya got a deal. BUT..." he pointed at Eggman. "There won't be any promises that I won't betray you!"

Eggman laughed his awkward laugh, and in the voice of a super villain, pointed back at Sonic. "Very well, blue rat. Welcome to the Eggman Empire!"

Sonic mentally smirked. _You have no idea you're being played, do ya, Eggy?_


	4. The Day I Met Him

Swapped Lives

Chapter 4: The Day I Met Him

Shadow's ears had long since drowned out the demanding voices of the soldiers surrounding him. He ignored their smacking him with the butts of their rifles, ignored their constant questioning, ignored the smell of the gunpowder in the helicopter, ignored the handcuffs clinking together in his hands. He was in a complete shock. Then again, who wouldn't be? Who wouldn't be surprised if they were arrested by the very people they had sworn to protect?

"For the last time," one man's words finally got through to his head. "Were you at Prison Island three days ago, assisting Eggman with breaking into the base?"

The coal-black hedgehog merely humphed, turning his head away, though his ear twitched in annoyance when the soldier dodged his razor-sharp quills.

"Why you-" Shadow cut the man off, attempting to cross his arms, but forgetting that he was wearing handcuffs in the first place.

"You have no right to arrest me, the one who's been saving your worthless lives for the last six years. You dare lay your filthy hands on me, the one who's been protecting you all this time, _human?_ " Shadow's crimson irises seemed to glow as his gaze narrowed. "You are nothing but a weak, selfish human who only cares for himself."

Shadow whipped his head over to the others, looking them over. "I know what you are. No matter how many times you say this is 'all for the sake of the country', in the end it all boils down to your own selfish thoughts. How pathetic."

One of the men stood up, holding up his hand. "Secure him! Hurry!"

Judging by the way his eyebrows were scrunched together, and by the gritting of his teeth, Shadow found himself satisfied at making them angry. It was exactly what he wanted them to do. Be blinded by rage, and end up attacking uselessly and randomly, that is.

Every soldier within the helicopter raised their rifles, and Shadow didn't even blink when the crosshairs landed on various parts of his body. He didn't know why, but he felt as though he'd done something like this before, with someone else.

What he was also surprised about was how rude he acted to military personnel. He'd never spoken like this to anyone before-and besides, if he did, he doesn't remember it. Filthy humans? That sounded oddly...natural, coming out of his mouth.

"Fire!"

The bullets rained down on the hedgehog, but for a reason unbeknownst to him, time slowed drastically for him. Like, so slow, it seemed as though he were in one of those slow motion videos-only about two hundred times slower. A lot of slows in the same sentence, he just realized.

Shadow blinked and, using the opportunity, ducked the bullets, and ran over to the aircraft's doors. The moment his fingertips touched the doors, time sped up, returning to its regular flow.

"Where'd he go?!"

Shadow swore under his breath, before sliding the door open and jumping out. He heard several shouts and orders coming from the men above him, as well as their futile attempts at hitting him with at least one bullet.

Well, now that Shadow was free, he needed to figure out how he would land without killing himself. Indeed, that would be a difficult task, considering all the tree branches that blocked the path below him. He was above a forest, after all.

"Well hello, Stripes!"

A tick mark appeared on the jet-black hedgehog's forehead, but his eyes flickered in surprise at the unfamiliar-but at the same time reminiscent-voice. He turned to where it came from, which was too his right. He found himself staring face-to-face with a sapphire hedgehog who had a pair of bright, vivid green irises in his eyes. A cocky smile was etched onto his face.

"And who might you be?" Shadow asked the hedgehog, who had turned to look down at the ground below. The blue hedgehog did a bow, though it looked awkward, with how they were skydiving and all. "Sonic the Hedgehog, at your service!" He introduced himself.

"Sonic?" Shadow echoed the name. He was rather surprised that it sounded familiar, even though he knew he had never met Sonic before. He received that sense of familiarity, like he did whenever something that reminded him of his unknown past came up.

Sonic tilted his head in curiosity. "You're Shad, right? The guy who saves the world all the time? And the guy who's practically invisible on the freeway." He murmured the last part, though Shadow's hand fisted since he heard it.

"Anyways, I just wanted to meet ya! Ya should thank me, though, since _I'm_ the one who did the Chaos Control thing for ya. Slowin' down time and everythin'."

"You're the one who did it?"

"Yeah, thanks to the Chaos Emerald the doc gave me." Sonic pulled the lavender-colored emerald seemingly out of nowhere (like in all the cartoons, though Sonic refused to tell where he actually kept it hidden all the time), and Shadow's eyes enlarged. "You've got to be kidding me."

Sonic smiled, and threw the emerald up, where it landed back in his hands. It seemed the laws of physics and gravity had no effect on him. "Nope."

Shadow barely stopped himself from smacking the hedgehog over the head. "Please don't say you're on the doctor's side."

"I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm on his side, but..." Sonic never finished his sentence, as the expression on his face quickly grew solemn. He turned away, so much that Shadow only caught sight of cyan quills. "Never mind."

"Sonic..." Shadow froze, remembering.

 _"Were you at Prison Island three days ago, assisting Eggman with breaking into the base?"_

 _"Sonic the Hedgehog, at your service!"_

 _"Yeah, thanks to the Chaos Emerald the doc gave me."_

Shadow quickly grabbed Sonic by his arm, and got so close to his face that their foreheads were pushed together. "Are _you_ the one that got me framed?!"

Sonic instantly reverted back to his cocky, prideful self that Shadow saw him to be, and raised his hands up in a playful surrender. "Dude, are ya an idiot? Unless everyone on the planet is colorblind, then I highly doubt that they would arrest ya after mistaking ya for me."

"Well, apparently, the entire freakin' world is colorblind!"

"Really?" Sonic blinked.

"Yes, and-" Shadow never finished, as he suddenly remembered that they were still falling from the sky-and were dangerously near the ground. He began flailing his arms around. "Crap!"

Sonic began to laugh, pointing at Shadow. "Aw, man! Didn't know y-you panicked so m-much about falling from the sky! This is hilarious!" He shouted, laughing between each word.

Shadow felt his face begin to heat up. He never really had done any training with Knuckles in the air before, so can anyone blame him? This was actually only his third time doing this-the other two being when he was on rescue missions. Of course, he ended up breaking one of his limbs every time, but that's another story.

"ANYWAYS," Shadow began, "How do you think we'll get out of this?!"

The cobalt hedgehog smiled brightly. He then grabbed Shadow by the waist, and held the raven-colored hedgehog in a bridal-style, one that made him blush to a very, very large extent. Sonic held up the violet emerald. "CHAOS CONTROL!"

* * *

 _"Chaos Control? What's that?"_

 _"It's a technique used with Chaos Emeralds, Shadow. If someone can do it right, they can actually teleport through time and space!"_

 _"Woah! Really?"_

 _"Yeah! Do you want to try with one that I made?"_

 _"Of course I do!"_

* * *

The burning sensation of a recovered memory returned to Shadow, making him freeze up and completely forget where he was for a moment. He knew that those voices. One was his own, the other belonging to one of the people he loved very dearly.

Shadow quickly remembered that Sonic was holding him like a groom would for a bride on their wedding day, but he didn't have time to get out of the hedgehog's arms. Sonic had fallen over, breathing heavily. He had dropped Shadow, who fell to the ground with a painful thump.

"What was that for, Faker?!" Shadow shouted, before lowering his currently raised arm in surprise. Faker? Where had that name come from? It sounded so...natural, like it had been something he'd been doing forever. But this was the first time it had ever escaped his mouth.

Sonic's heavy breathing snapped the inky hedgehog back to his senses, as he watched the cobalt one attempt regaining his energy. Depending on where they transported themselves, the farther away, the more energy it took. Judging by how exhausted and fatigued he looked, Shadow assumed that he was either very unexperienced with a Chaos Emerald, or he just transported them quite the distance.

Looking him over now, Shadow realized this was exactly how he looked after pushing himself past his limit in his training-or rather, fighting and arguing-with Knuckles. After figuring that out, he knew he truly was a pitiful sight when his training ended.

"Did you get that sense of déjà vu too? Like you just remembered something important?" Sonic asked the question between ragged breaths.

Shadow was taken by surprise. "You have amnesia too?"

Sonic smiled, though Shadow noticed the strain and exhaustion behind it. "Worse than you ever could. For crying out loud, all I know is my own freakin' name. My age, my family, my friends, where I was born, where I lived, what I did...I don't know any of it."

"And here I thought you're brain was a peanut." Shadow murmured, crossing his arms and taking a look at their surroundings. Trees everywhere, so Shadow had to assume that they were in a forest somewhere that was definitely not in Station Square anymore. Sonic wouldn't be that exhausted after simply teleporting to a few stories below where they were before. Unless he was already fatigued enough in the beginning. After all, he had slowed time down drastically so Shadow could escape the helicopters. Even if it was only for a few moments, slowing down time took up a large amount of energy.

"Anyways," Sonic began standing up, using one of the many trees around him for support. "I have ta get goin' now. Mr. Eggbutt needs me back soon."

Shadow's ruby gaze narrowed. "If you're working with doctor, then we're enemies, no matter how many times you go off trying to save my ass." He felt the heat in his face as he whispered the last part of that sentence.

"Relax, Stripes. Just 'cause I'm workin' with 'im doesn't mean I'm on 'is side." Sonic dusted off his arms. "See ya some other time, Faker." He placed his hand over his mouth in surprise.

Shadow blinked. Faker? So they both knew the name, despite it being their first time using it. But, it sounded so _right_ coming out of their mouths. What did that mean?

Sonic just waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it, Stripes. I'll see ya later. CHAOS CONTROL!" Like he had done beforehand, Sonic raised his hand into the air, and the light of the Chaos Emerald temporarily blinded Shadow.

Once he came back to his senses, Shadow nearly wanted to slap himself. Sonic had a Chaos Emerald and he was too stupid to bother grabbing it from him in the first place! He, Tails, and Maria could finally get another emerald, as they currently only had two. Who knew how many more Eggman had?

There was that, and Shadow couldn't help but feel strange at the thought of earlier. He treated those soldiers like they were less than him, he said Faker, a term completely unfamiliar to him but familiar at the same time, he met Sonic, despite having felt that they had met before, and he discovered that both himself and Sonic were amnesiac in one way or another.

He looked up to the sky. _Just what in the hell is going on?_


	5. Announcement

Hey guys. It's HaloKeres-Chan, and no, this isn't a chapter.

I'm just gonna put it out straight; this story is discontinued. I'm really, really sorry. When I first started this story, I had lots of motivation and ideas and plot, but over time, with TEIWWB and new fanfics planned out, I've just lost motivation, and in all honesty, I really don't feel like rewatching an entire series or replaying an entire game to remember how the plot is going to go. Yeah, that's right. I don't even remember what this story is about anymore. I just wanted to see how Sonic and Shadow would behave if they swapped places, really. Instead of just dragging this on and keeping you guys waiting for another chapter that'll never come, this is what I've chosen to do; Swapped Lives is discontinued.

I know you all wanted to read this, and when I first put it up two years ago, I received a lot of support. It...made me really happy, and I'm not sure if this is for the better or the worse. I'm not good at keeping promises, especially if it involves my own personal interests, so I can't promise if a new chappie will come out soon regarding stories. I've considered putting this up for adoption, and if any of you want to, just message me.

Some of you are going to hate me for discontinuing this story. I know that. But really, I just don't have any motivation, and fellow writers should understand. It's not that I've been brought down by negative comments, or pressure, but I don't have any inspiration anymore. Thanks for supporting me all this way, guys. Really. Like I said, it's up for adoption if any of you would like, but otherwise, I'm not continuing this story. Thanks.

~HaloKeres-Chan


End file.
